11/02/2026
ETU Slams Proposed Hate Speech Bill as a "Dangerous Gag" on Worker Rights To Protest
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) QLD & NT Branch has today issued a scathing rejection of the hate speech legislation set for the Queensland Parliament, labelling the bill a "slippery slope" that threatens the fundamental rights of union members and the broader working class to engage in political protest. The ETU will always support efforts to curb the rise of racism, bigotry and religious vilification. However, this bill goes much further than that and is being used as a political vehicle to curb genuine political expression the LNP might disagree with.
State Secretary Peter Ong warns that the government’s move to criminalise specific slogans and "offensive" speech is an unprecedented overreach and has the potential to damage democratic values important to the trade union movement.
Mr Ong says, "This isn't just about a few slogans; this is about the state deciding what you can and can’t say on a picket line or at a rally. We’ve seen this playbook before. Today it’s international slogans the government doesn't like; tomorrow it’s union chants or banners calling out corporate greed that someone finds 'offensive' or 'menacing'.”
"The ETU will never support laws that put a two-year prison sentence on political expression. Our members have a long and proud history of standing up for human rights globally. We don’t need the government acting as a moral police force with the power to throw workers in a cell for exercising their voices."
The ETU highlights the following critical flaws:
• Criminalising Dissent: The broad definition of "offence" gives authorities too much discretion to shut down protests that are inconvenient to the government of the day.
• Attack on Democracy: The trade union movement is built on the right to use strong, provocative language to demand justice. This bill sets a precedent that could see unionists targeted for their advocacy.
• Government Overreach: Rather than addressing the root causes of social tension, the ETU argues the government is opting for "lazy, punitive laws" that undermine the democratic freedoms Queenslanders have fought for.
The ETU calls on the Queensland Government to immediately scrap the proposed jail terms for speech and engage in genuine consultation with the labour movement to ensure the Anti-Discrimination Act is not used as a weapon against genuine and lawful activism which should be encouraged in a healthy democracy.
"We will be watching every MP closely on this," said Mr Ong. "You cannot claim to be a friend of the worker while you’re handing the police the keys to lock them up for what’s written on their placards.
For more information, please call State Secretary Peter Ong on 0419 721 046 or Media Officer Will Yates on 0448 633 858